Mayor Ballard needs to lead on fight against violent crime

Mayor Greg Ballard has announced the creation of a task force to combat the startling rise in violent crime that has occurred in Indianapolis generally and more particularly during the first three months of 2013. I felt a sense of deja vu as he stood before the press and pledged that public safety was his top priority. I am not alone in my thinking as many of my constituents have shared personal concerns for their safety.

We heard this same message during 2007, when Ballard, as a candidate, pledged that public safety was "job one" for him should he be elected mayor. We heard the message again in 2008, as the city reeled from 11 murders in just 10 days (June 30-July 9). In 2011, Mayor Ballard declared mission accomplished as part of his re-election strategy, arguing that his anti-crime tactics were working and violent crime in Indianapolis was on the decline.

Yet here we are in 2013, confronting these sobering numbers: thirty-one homicides in three months. Nearly one death every other day this year. Young African-American men are 85 times more likely to be killed on the Near Eastside of Indianapolis than the national average.

I applaud the work Public Safety Director Troy Riggs has done during his brief tenure in our city. I also recognize that there is no quick-fix to the violent crime problems facing Indianapolis.

But I hope to convey to Riggs the frustration of my constituents when they hear Ballard is having yet another press conference to talk about how public safety is "Job One." I have heard these slogans before, as have my constituents, and 2013 marks the sixth year in a row that Indianapolis has been told that we are just one year away from significant progress on this issue.

The City-County Council held a public forum in which community members discussed their ideas for reversing the trend of rising crime. We heard of the need for more police officers, improved educational opportunities, the need for more jobs for youth and adults, for greater support of social services and for youth intervention strategies.

But, more than anything, the consistent message was that the greatest deficit facing Indianapolis is not measured in dollars or by the number of boots on the ground; it is a question of leadership - leadership that we were promised six years ago when Ballard took office, and leadership that many are still looking for today as we battle, once again, a rising violent crime rate.

Mary Moriarty Adams

Chair, Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee

Indianapolis City County Council

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Mayor Ballard needs to lead on fight against violent crime

Mayor Greg Ballard has announced the creation of a task force to combat the startling rise in violent crime that has occurred in Indianapolis generally and more particularly during the first three